User:Alison Wheeler

Alison Wheeler was Chair of Wiki Educational Resources Ltd, the legal name of the first Wikimedia UK chapter. In addition to British English and American English she can also get by in French and German most of the time having worked across the whole of Europe for major US and UK companies as a business consultant and program manager.

English wikipedia once had an article about her, but replaced it with one about a singer who happens to share her name. There are also many other 'Alison Wheeler's around the world.

Background

By training she has worked in the computer field (trainer, programmer, analyst, systems & business consultant) since 1976, including major FTSE250 and Fortune 500 multi-national companies up to Head of Department and IT Director levels, as well as a freelance and as a board member of start-up companies. This included reviewing and designing systems for banks, insurance companies, and government departments. During her time as the worldwide Internet Program Manager for CHSE - where her office was her laptop, an internet connection, and two mobile phones, rather more often than a physical location - she travelled a great deal to every country in Scandinavia, Eastern and Western Europe, using her language skills. She has also consulted to various companies, educating then about internationalisation and localisation issues in web interfaces.

Education

MBA (Masters in Business Administration) with Financial Strategy, Strategy, Marketing, and Innovation electives

NPO experience

has included Treasurer for the British Softball Federation (10,000+ members; the national governing body for the sport in the UK); Chair of a UK political party group and of other smaller scale bodies; an organiser for many years of the London Pride Day and of the London Lesbian & Gay Centre; and the elected member of the Open University's Student Association representing the London region, as which she also served on the OU's Central Consultative Committee.